Relocations and Dislocations: The Racial and Ethnic Dynamics of Internal Migration in Colombia

• In Event: 120 - Regular Session. Internal Migration

Abstract

Literature on internal migration has seldom focused on how micro-level decisions to move and general migration trends differ by race and ethnicity. Past research on internal migration has focused extensively on labor as a cause for relocation, with little attention paid to non-economic push factors, such as violence, that might influence migration decisions. Using individual-level data from the 2005 Colombian general census and department level data on political violence in Colombia, I find that black and indigenous Colombians are more likely to reside in violent regions than their white and mestizo counterparts, particularly if those regions have a high percentage of autonomous land granted by the state to black and indigenous communities. I also find that political violence is associated with out-migration from a region, and particularly so for black and indigenous Colombians. Self-reported reasons for migration in the 2005 Census confirm these findings; when black and indigenous Colombians migrate internally, they are more likely to report moving due to violence than for traditional reasons (e.g., for employment, education, or family reunification). Historical constructions of race and ethnicity in Latin America and Colombia are addressed, as are recent constitutional reforms concerning multiculturalism and ethnic land rights in the region. Findings suggest that future research on internal migration should continue to factor in the additional push factor of violence and address how migration due to violence, and migration trends in general, differ by race and ethnicity.

Author

• Shantee Rosado, University of Pennsylvania